Lately I have been saying "what?" or "huh?" more than usual. I have had my hearing checked back when I had that rhinoplasty (never again...). The ENT doctor said my hearing was fine. So, has it changed and getting bad or am I just not listening and comprehending what people are saying? Well, the other day my grandson was telling me something and I was not paying attention right away and he had to repeat himself. Finally after saying what? so many times, he said, "grandma did you catch that?" And from that question I started getting into prompt mode and came up with this one...
He had asked me if I caught what he was saying? Did he actually throw the words at me to catch? No, it is just a saying. Look up the origin of that saying (or others that interest you). Record the meaning. Then write how it relates to your situation.
There are other things people can catch, such as a ball. Think back on when your children play ball or when you, yourself, played ball. There are many types of "playing ball". Bouncey balls, baseball, basketball, football, tennis ball, tether ball, volleyball, ping pong ball, and so on. I have memory or more of each one of those types of balls mentioned. I could spend many hours just writing those memories. Choose a memory from someone playing ball and write about it. Make a new memory and play ball with your grandchildren or other children in your life. Something about a ball and children make for happy times.
We can catch a cold. Now there is something we don't want to catch. But it is one of the easiest things to catch. Do you have memory you could write about that came about during a time you had a cold or someone else may have had a cold. Good ole chicken soup and lying in bed resting type of memories. The only time my mother paid attention to me was when I was sick. I got pneumonia every year and would be hospitalized. So, a cold definitely provided me with better memories of my mother. What good memories could a cold provide a person to write about? Here in Oklahoma we suffer from many environmental allergies and that offers many chances to say "bless you" to the chronic sufferers of allergies. Do you have any memories of sneezing and people offering a bless you?
Have you ever tried to catch a falling star? Now there is something I have tried to do. Falling stars are hard to catch as a child but tremendously hard to do as an adult. But I keep trying. My very favorite quote came from a Reader's Digest entry by a child about the age of 7 or 9 maybe. I do not recall his name anymore because I found the quote my senior year and that was in 1977. Anyway, I just have to claim it as borrowed and here it is:
I saw a star.
I reached for it.
I missed.
So, I accepted the sky.
I have many memories of trying to catch a star and watching falling stars and wishing upon them. I watched many meteorite showers in my time. Do you have any memories like that to write about? Have you ever tried to catch one with your grandchildren? Just looking at the stars can provide many prompts for writing. Afterall it is the Lord who made such a wonderful creation. If He can make them shine years and years and years then He is capable of making you shine too. Do you know the names of some of the constellations? Have you ever tried to count the stars? What about the nights when it is too light to see the stars? Or so dark you needed to find a star? Trying to catching a falling star is very good memory exercise. Try it sometime.
Catching diseases is something people do. And that is things we don't want to catch. Do you have memories of times when you may have been exposed to a communicable disease? I have had measles and mumps and I can write about those times. Not so fun times but nonetheless something to remember. I can write about the times I tried to teach children the importance of washing their hands and the silly things they do or say when washing them. We also teach them to sang happy birthday twice while washing them to wash those nasty germs away. Write about the ways you taught your children to keep germs away. Write about the times you may have been worried about catching a disease and what you felt about it. Are you suffering from a disease and it is causing you undo stress and physical harm? Write about how you handle it and how others can learn from it. Do an extensive study in the Bible of the diseases that the Lord helped people get well from. Sometimes people are stricken with diseases that no matter how much we pray they still do not get healed from that disease. Write about people you know who are ill and pray for them to be healed or for them to have comfort during the trying times of the disease. Write out prayers for people you do not know but are suffering from diseases. Send cards to people you know who are in the hospital and will not be able to come home or send get well cards to friends and family that you know are ill but do not have an opportunity to visit. Use this as a time to do some "catching up" and thought I would send you a "how are you doing" card.
And as my grandson reminded me, there are the expressions that people say that we can catch. There are such a vast amount of things I could write that my students have said over all of these years. And my grandchildren are always providing me with things they say that I include in my journal writing and with you all too at times. Did you catch that? Next time you hear someone say something cute or silly or just downright important write it down for later. People say the greatest things for prompts. And advertisements provide prompts for writing. Church marquees provide sayings worth writing about. Do some active listening and you will surely catch something to write about.
Now we have discussed things that people catch. But what about the things people drop? That could provide many things to write about. We drop items in our hands. We drop hints or clues in our conversations or even in our writing (read between the lines). We drop bad relationships/friendships. We drop mail in the mailbox. Those examples can provide you many prompts. I know I have written many, and I do many journals on relationships and friendships that I have had to drop or been dropped from.
To catch something that thing must be thrown first. Can you think of things to write about that are thrown? How about snowballs? Now that could be some fun memories for those of us who live in areas that get snow. But here are two things that people throw and shouldn't - hurtful words and insults. I have spent many hours writing about this in my journals. The Lord was there while I was writing about it wiping the tears from my eyes so I could see the pages I was writing on. Are there situations like that when someone threw you hurtful accusations or words or insults and it just hurt really really bad? If you are still suffering from those memories ask the Lord to help you get over them so you can move on with your life. Write about how you were able to overcome situations like that and become victorious in the Lord.
If you don't catch something you end up having to pick it up. Write about things you pick up. We pick up our children when they fall or just want to be held. We pick up the yard of debris or weeds. We pick people up from places to take them somewhere else. We pick up the house when it is cleaning time. We pick up a card during card games. I know those examples provide me with lots of memories to write about. But here is one thing we don't want to pick up. People's bad habits. Or maybe people don't want to pick up your bad habits. Do you have any thing like that you could write about and change?
Well, I hope that you have caught on to how "catchy phrases" can provide you with many prompts to write about. I have to go now I will "catch you later". Or as I sign off in my buddy journal entries "ketcha later"...
